Most Spectacular Places to Go Camping and Stargazing This Year

Your dream of becoming an astronaut may seem like a possibility again

May 3, 2017 | 4:13 pm

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Have you ever met a child who didn’t want to be an astronaut at some point? He or she probably forgot about that dream as artificial city lights and pollution diminished the majesty of dark skies. Eventually they stopped thinking about the Milky Way because they can barely see more than a few hundred stars from an urban park, even if it’s one of the best.

A movement, called the global dark-sky movement, has been in effect since the 1980s. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is leading the movement in campaigns to reduce the amount of light pollution.

There are still some places all over the world that can revive that dream even though darkness is hard to come by and light pollution disrupts the ecosystems resulting in many negative effects.

Many trails are a part of park systems that are named by the IDA as International Dark Sky Parks (IDSP). They serve as a reminder that that the nighttime sky and environment are just as important as the daylight.

Camping is all about reconnecting with nature, breathing fresh air by a campfire and admiring the sky. The following places made the list for several reasons – they are either remote, located at high elevation, tucked into undeveloped land, offer special night sky programs, or offer thrilling camping conditions.